A Texa mother was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison for poisoning her daughter.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), Jesika Lynn Jones, 32, will serve time on convictions that include injury to a child and danger to a child, in connection with the 2022 poisoning.
Police said Jones administered Benadryl to “fake a seizure disorder,” then took her daughter to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth multiple times, seeking treatment.
Concerned by the numerous visits, the medical center initiated an investigation after Jones’ final visit with the child.
According to Detective Michael Weber of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, Jones confessed to giving her daughter four to six adult-strength Benadryl tablets. “In this case, I had a confession,” Weber said. “We had evidence in the child’s blood and evidence in the mother’s purse.”
Weber also stated that there was evidence and testimony indicating that Jones had similarly poisoned her other children.
CBS News reported that Derek Jones, Jesika’s estranged husband, accused her of poisoning all three of their children, claiming she had convinced him they were suffering from epilepsy.
“She’s a danger to society and an evil person,” Derek said.
In January 2024, Jones pleaded guilty to the charges, which Detective Weber referred to as “medical child abuse.”
“They either exaggerate, falsify, or induce medical symptoms in their child to fulfill an intrinsic need in themselves,” Weber explained.
Jones violated her bond in October by having contact with a child and again in July when she interacted with another child while trying to date a man. The second child testified that Jones had shown interest in the medications she was prescribed.
“She was meeting men and essentially becoming their girlfriend to gain access to their children,” Weber said.
Tarrant County Judge Steven Jumes expressed concern for public safety in rendering the 60-year sentence.
“Unfortunately, I believe you are a determined recidivist,” he stated.
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[Feature Photo: Jesika Lynn Jones/Tarrant County SO]
